Occidental posts loss on $1.4 bln charges, cuts budget again

May 5 (Reuters) – Troubled oil producer Occidental Petroleum Corp posted a loss in the first quarter on Tuesday, hit by $1.4 billion in impairment charges, and cut its budget for the third time since March as oil prices crashed to historic lows.

It reported a net loss of $2.23 billion, or $2.49 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $631 million, or 84 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

The company cut its capital budget for the year to between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion after earlier downsizing it to between $2.7 billion and $2.9 billion, nearly half the original forecast. (Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurEditing by Arun Koyyur)

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